Any Plans to Allow Game Saves to be Copied on PS3?

[glide]

I'm not sure why this feature is missing from the PS3 when it is available on the 360, but are there any plans to address this issue? I have 2 consoles and would like to be able to copy my save data from one to the other...

And why, if I backup my entire PS3 hard drive are the saves not also backed up? It's quite annoying.

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

You can transfer your saves... You just have to transfer them onto a USB flash drive. Then to the other PS3.

[Eman311]

I'm not sure why this feature is missing from the PS3 when it is available on the 360, but are there any plans to address this issue? I have 2 consoles and would like to be able to copy my save data from one to the other...

And why, if I backup my entire PS3 hard drive are the saves not also backed up? It's quite annoying.

I don't think you can copy saves on the 360, only move them.

[SoulScreme]

You can transfer your saves... You just have to transfer them onto a USB flash drive. Then to the other PS3.

This is not true on the PS3. I've tried. If you've done it, please post a step-by-step explanation.

[glide]

I have tried copying onto SD, Memory Stick, USB Flash, and via system backup - nothing works on the PS3.

[boboette]

RB on PS3 disabled the 'copy' function in Data Management. If you can't even copy it, I don't see how you can transfer it to a USB drive. I'd be curious to know how you did it as well.

So the data is not saved online? Meaning if I sign into my account using another console I can't access my data?

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

This is not true on the PS3. I've tried. If you've done it, please post a step-by-step explanation.

Sure,
First plug in the USB Flash Drive and go to your game saves folder om the XMB.
Select the game save you wish to transfer and press triangle.
Select "Copy" and copy the save to the USB Flash Drive.
Remove the USB Flash Drive and insert it into the PS3 you wish to copy the save to.
Go to the "Game" tab on the XMB and go to the "Saved Data Utility" section.
You should see something like "USB Device" there, select it.
You should see your game save there, press triangle and copy it.
Thats it! This is the same method used for downloading/copying PS3 game saves off of the internet to the PS3. Hope this helps.

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

RB on PS3 disabled the 'copy' function in Data Management. If you can't even copy it, I don't see how you can transfer it to a USB drive. I'd be curious to know how you did it as well.

So the data is not saved online? Meaning if I sign into my account using another console I can't access my data?

Ah, well I was just speaking of transfering saves in general, I actually have RB on my 360 not my PS3 so I wouldn't know if the copy feature is disabled, if it is then that sucks...

[DesiredFX]

Select "Copy" and copy the save to the USB Flash Drive.


While you've obviously done this before and have posted a nice description, you clearly haven't tried it with RB or you'd realize that this step doesn't work.

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

Well if your only trying to bring your RB save to a friends house or such then you could just remove the hard drive and take it with you, it's extreemly easy to do.

[glide]

Well if your only trying to bring your RB save to a friends house or such then you could just remove the hard drive and take it with you, it's extreemly easy to do.

That is not what I am trying to do. I have 2 PS3's and would like to transfer saves in between them.

[Damaged]

Maybe I missed it in one of the other threads, but did anyone on the Harmonix team actually tell us why this was disabled? I know there was speculation, but I don't remember seeing an announcement from them.:confused:

[oddroot]

That is not what I am trying to do. I have 2 PS3's and would like to transfer saves in between them.

Well then you could always trying backing up the one with Rockband and restoring it to your other PS3 :)

[DesiredFX]

we came in?


Well then you could always trying backing up the one with Rockband and restoring it to your other PS3 :)

Isn't this where

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

It is likly disabled due to the fact that it would allow leaderboard exploitation, as well as conflictions when save games with DLC are loaded by a user without the DLC.

Speculation yes, but there has been no official announcment that I know of.

[Shoeless]

I have to admit, finding out about this after first getting Rock Band has me a little concerned. It's not an issue right just NOW, but what if, in the future, I decide "60GB of hard drive space isn't enough, especially with all these movies and TV shows Sony is now offering on the PSN, it's time to get a bigger hard drive."

What happens then? Does this mean that my Rock Band save is "trapped" on that particular hard drive and every time I want to play with my saved progress I actually have to manually swap out the newer hard drive and put my older one in every time I want to play?

Like I said, right now this isn't an issue for me, but I am concerned about the future. There may come a day when I'll want a bigger hard drive in the PS3 but my Rock Band file is now locked to my 60GB.

[glide]

Well then you could always trying backing up the one with Rockband and restoring it to your other PS3 :)

Please see my original post. I have tried that. It does not work.

[glide]

Maybe I missed it in one of the other threads, but did anyone on the Harmonix team actually tell us why this was disabled? I know there was speculation, but I don't remember seeing an announcement from them.:confused:

They have not said anything. That is what I am looking for. An official response as to why PS3 owners got screwed. Again.

[DesiredFX]

Like I said, right now this isn't an issue for me, but I am concerned about the future. There may come a day when I'll want a bigger hard drive in the PS3 but my Rock Band file is now locked to my 60GB.

Yeah, this is the primary issue...this and a hard drive crash.

I'm actually considering upgrading my drive now, even though my 60 GB is only about half full. It woud allow me to set up a Linux partition and also give me some redundancy should the bigger drive fail.

I don't think spoofing the leaderboards is really an issue: if the leaderboard only updates after a new performance, there's no way to trick them into taking old scores.

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

I had the 120GB 360 Elite drive, I messed it up however and the 360 refused to recognise it anymore, so get this: I opened it up, and pulled the 120GB SATA drive out of it, put it into my PS3 which formatted it and began using it fine. :D

I recommend upgrading your drive ASAP, unless HMX fixes this issue.

[dfjdejulio]

They have not said anything. That is what I am looking for. An official response as to why PS3 owners got screwed. Again.
Well, does Sony have an option for DRM?

On the XBox, game saves are coded so they're tied to a gamer tag. You can sometimes copy them, usually can move them, but if they ever get "disconnected" from the gamer tag that created them, they become essentially "tainted" and you can't use them for achievements or online or stuff. This makes it safe to permit copying them.

If the PS3 doesn't offer the infrastructure to support something similar, I can understand game companies taking the safe route and just forbidding the moving/copying of save data.

(The downside for us is, on the xbox we can't use generic thumb drives for this stuff. We have to use special MSFT-branded non-standard memory carts that support their DRM.)

[glide]

Well, does Sony have an option for DRM?

If the PS3 doesn't offer the infrastructure to support something similar, I can understand game companies taking the safe route and just forbidding the moving/copying of save data.



Even if that is the case - who cares? I want to copy save data. Not the actual game. I do not see what interest the game companies would have in preventing that....

[dfjdejulio]

I do not see what interest the game companies would have in preventing that....
Think about it! If you could unlock everything and earn a zillion dollars and get a zillion points in career mode, and then give the game save to a buddy, that would totally screw up any on-line reporting, leaderboards, the ability to use authenticated scores for contests, et cetera.

So, does Sony have a DRM implementation to enable that kind of thing?

[Nate Finch]

I agree that this is a pretty major issue. It's not like we're trying to give our DLC to anyone else (even though it's allowed on up to 5 other consoles). We just want our game saves to be, you know, saved. They should at least be able to be backed up. There's no excuse for that. I can understand not being able to move them from console to console *sorta*.... but what this means is, if you ever lose or upgrade your hard drive *all* your progress in rock band is gone. Sure, you can re-download the DLC for free, but it won't keep your progress in BWT etc.

[glide]

Think about it! If you could unlock everything and earn a zillion dollars and get a zillion points in career mode, and then give the game save to a buddy, that would totally screw up any on-line reporting, leaderboards, the ability to use authenticated scores for contests, et cetera.

So, does Sony have a DRM implementation to enable that kind of thing?

I think crippling a pretty standard feature, not making any mention of it, all to prevent some loser from cheating at online contests for a fake rock band is pretty lame any way you slice it.

[DesiredFX]

Think about it! If you could unlock everything and earn a zillion dollars and get a zillion points in career mode, and then give the game save to a buddy, that would totally screw up any on-line reporting, leaderboards, the ability to use authenticated scores for contests, et cetera.

That's the easiest thing in the world to secure, though: nothing in the online world gets updated except when you immediately finish the song. Does this shaft people who aren't online? Yes, but why do they care? Does this shaft you if you drop connection before you finish the song? Yes, but how often does that happen?

And if it's really that big an issue, all you have to do is key the score data to the ID of the machine it was created on (all PS3s have a hardware ID) and cancel out the reporting of scores from the new PS3 unless that score was originally recorded on the new PS3.

[boboette]

I don't get why they can't do what Warhawk does-- save everything on the central server so that the data is linked to our PSN ID. This way we can play on whatever console, and don't have to worry about people exploiting the leaderboard.

Another separate thought, if I were the #1 on the leaderboard, I would never copy and give my data to a friend/spouse, no matter how close we are. I don't see why that would be so big of a concern that HMX wants to deactivate the copy data function.

With all the features that HMX 'forgot' or 'dunno how' to include in PS3, I'd say it's an accident, not an intended feature.

[Shoeless]

I'm just wondering whether this is true or not. On another website, someone claimed that the Rock Band save file "no copy" issue isn't an issue at all, because the back-up utility used by the XMB under System Settings will circumvent this and allow duplication. Can anyone else confirm this?

[erikgolson]

I'm just wondering whether this is true or not. On another website, someone claimed that the Rock Band save file "no copy" issue isn't an issue at all, because the back-up utility used by the XMB under System Settings will circumvent this and allow duplication. Can anyone else confirm this?

a user on the playstation forums confirmed that this worked, but unless you have an external hard drive laying around (or hardly any game data so it'll fit on a thumb drive) then it's kinda worthless. I'm gearing up to do a linux install and this is the only problem i'm having. I'm going crazy at the idea of starting the game all over because I dont' have 30gb of external space to backup to.

[ControlNode]

Well if your only trying to bring your RB save to a friends house or such then you could just remove the hard drive and take it with you, it's extreemly easy to do.

You seem to be a master of false advice. You've made several suggestions of things to do that you have obviously not tested. If you have ever tried moving a hard drive from one PS3 to another and accessing the data you would know that it is not "extreemly easy to do" as once the hard drive is connected in the other PS3 you can't access any data on it. The only thing you can do to it is format it. I know as the GPU in my PS3 died and I tried this to backup my data that changed in Dec after my Nov backup using a friend's PS3, but could not. You should stick to playing the games and leave the technical talk to those that can keep up.

I do feel that Hamonix needs to supply us with a way to at the very least MOVE the data to/from a Memory Stick. Moving it prevents the copy that they seem to be worried about. I'd still highly prefer a backup (copy) option that works in case of console failure, can't move a file once the console fails. They can patch it into the game or give us a downloadable utility to do it. I'm restarting my game now that I have received the replacement console, but don't look forward to restarting again if my console dies again.

[CRCError]

I don't get this either.

For those that don't know there are actually two savegames for Rock Band on the PS3 HDD. The PS3 has 3 categories of save data. Save Games, PS1/2 Saves and Game Data.

I know one is for storing DLC since it grows in direct proportion to the songs I've bought on the PSN. However it may also hold band data too.

There is another save in the Game Data area as well.

But as previously stated both files are content protected by the PS3. This means there is NO way to copy the data. Not even if you use the consoles backup/restore feature. That is a failing on Sony's part in my opinion. A backup utility should backup ALL data on a console.

It's not like it's simple to move your DLC from one system to another. I've had my PS3 confirm my PSN Account info everytime I've moved a PS1 Classic game to my PSP. There's no reason why the Rock Band DLC cannot be verified in a similar manner.

[pgdz]

I'm in the same boat. My console's about to go into Sony for repair. If they decide to send me a replacement unit, I've lost 2 months of savedata for Rock Band. Gone, kaput.

It seems extremely unreasonable that there's no way to do this. I understand locking savefiles to prevent stuff like people sharing records/DLC or whatever, but to disallow legit users like myself, people who have a console replaced/stolen and just want to get their ONE copy of save data transported to their ONE ps3 is horrible horrible practice. I know I'm pretty pissed and demotivated to start my game progress from scratch, and I only lost 2 months. I can't imagine how livid gamers will be when they lose 6 months, a year, or more progress, all because of some cryptic reason that their savefiles are non-portable.

Can someone from HMX explain why these files are locked down, and tell if there's any plans to allow them to be unlocked?

[AVC808]

FYI the ps3 backup/restore utility DOES preserve our rock band data. i just used the utility when upgrading to a bgger hard drive. all my dlc and characters and progress were restored on the brand new hard drive. spread the word because it's a common misconception that there is no way to transfer the rock band data. i too thought it was not possible until reading differentlyin the support forum. and now i am positive that it is possible because i have already done it :)

[gordmyren]

FYI the ps3 backup/restore utility DOES preserve our rock band data. i just used the utility when upgrading to a bgger hard drive. all my dlc and characters and progress were restored on the brand new hard drive. spread the word because it's a common misconception that there is no way to transfer the rock band data. i too thought it was not possible until reading differentlyin the support forum. and now i am positive that it is possible because i have already done it :)

However, this doesn't work when transferring rock band data from one PS3 to another. My friends and I have been playing for weeks on my PS3 but we cannot play at my house anymore due to noise issues that are "ruining my neighbors life." So we wanted to transfer the save data from my PS3 to his but were not able to. I wish the save data was paired with my playstation account so that I could play this incredible game on any machine I wanted to.

[DethBoxx]

Your neighbor sounds like a douche, play louder.

[Quad_Ridin_CPA]

I too have the PS3 and am frustrated at the inability to transfer game save data. I play at my friend's house sometimes and unfortunately we had to start a new band at his place. I honestly do not understand why HMX can't tell us something about this! It's very frustrating how HMX will chime in on some of the easier topics but then act as if they haven't read the complaints about other issues. Very frustrating that they just pick and choose what to respond to and what to leave alone.

[ControlNode]

I just tried to back up my game data again, still not allowed. Fix is still needed!!!

[halo2sin]

I very recently updated my 40gb HDD with a 320gb HDD. (only $89.99 btw)
I was scared I would lose all my stuff as well. I purchased an external HDD at Costco ($110 on sale 750GB) for backing up my PS3 and PC. First you need to format a save file in FAT32 forrmat(only one PS3 will recognize) then, do your HDD backup from PS3 to External. Also might be a good idea to download the current version of the system software (available @ playstation.com. put it on your external HDD in the FAT 32 File with your other stuff. Switch the old HDD with the new. Boot your system and follow the instructions. All your files should arrive intact. All means RB game saves AND DLC.
You could also create a new user on the other PS3 system, and sign in with your current PSN info, and download all your DLC. You wont get the game save, but that doesn't cost any money to redo.
Only problem I have, is that FAT32 has a limit of 32gb file. fine to back a 40gb, but I will need to back up as much as 300gb down the line.
If anyone knows how to make a larger FAT32 file, please post.

[ControlNode]

I understand that if I'm just replacing the hard drive in a console I can do a backup/restore and loss nothing. I also know that I can redownload the DLC to any console that my PSN is on. The problem is the game save, while it didn't cost money there was alot of time with the family invested in getting it where it is. If I have to replace my console I currently have no way to keep the game save. That is the problem Sony or EA/Harmonix needs to address. STILL WAITING FOR AN OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM HMX/DEV.

Also the FAT32 file size limit is smaller than 32GB, I think you are talking about the partition size limit when using Windows to format the drive. There are some free tools to format a larger Fat32 partition, just search around here or the Sony Playstation boards.

[Jem-Hadar]

I will be upgrading my PS3 80GB to a 320GB HDD this December. As far as I can tell everything will transfer over, and that is great. But as stated in the many previous posts. The ability to move / copy your game save is not available.

I previously sent an email to HMX and after a month of Sunday's I got a reply. Basically due to copyright's and licenseing issues HMX cannot support this feature as of current. However in the email they told me that they are talking to Sony to be able to patch the system to allow users to copy their characters and game saves to portable media to other PS3 devices.

This was last year when I emailed them. Apparently there is not an agreement with Sony to update or patch the system to allow game saves to be copied over.

Also was stated in the email that due to possible exploits some users could attempt to do, they would have to encrypt the information so as it is unusable by any other device except for the portable media transfer from 1 PS3 to another PS3.